American Lung Association's Faces Of Influenza Initiative Kicks Off In New York With Actress Jennifer Garner And Actor Dean Cain

Main Category: Flu / Cold / SARS
Also Included In: Immune System / Vaccines;  Respiratory / Asthma
Article Date: 20 Nov 2007 - 3:00 PDT

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Actress Jennifer Garner joined the American Lung Association to officially launch this year's Faces of Influenza campaign with a free public vaccination clinic and media event in New York City on November 12.

American Lung Association President and CEO Bernadette Toomey and Chief Medical Officer, Norman Edelman, MD, also participated in the event, which kicked off the campaign for the 2007-2008 influenza season.

In addition, Garner was joined by numerous health officials and other Faces of Influenza, including: actor and father Dean Cain, Anne Schuchat, MD (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), Richard and Alissa Kanowitz (who lost their 4-year-old daughter Amanda to influenza), Tyra Bryant-Stephens, MD (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia) and Luis Rodriguez, MD (Mount Sinai Services, Elmhurst Hospital Center).

American Lung Association Chair-elect Steve Nolan joined Bernadette Toomey, Dr. Edelman, Dean Cain and David Lynch (New York State Department of Health) in getting their flu shots at the event, along with nearly 800 others.

Several media outlets attended/covered the event, including:

- Reuters
- Getty Images
- People Magazine
- Baby Talk Magazine
- Big Apple Parent
- Women's Day Online
- FOX and Friends (National morning show)
- Mike and Juliet (National morning show)
- WNBC-TV (New York City NBC station)
- WCBS-TV (New York City CBS station)
- CW-11 TV Morning News (New York City morning news program)
- NY1-TV (Local New York City cable news network)
- 1010 WINS (Popular New York City news station with high commuter listenership)
- Medizine's Healthy Living
- Health News Digest.com
- HealthDay.com

Dr. Edelman and Jennifer Garner also conducted a media tour with 25 TV and radio stations across the country on November 13, including interviews in Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Miami and many other markets. Additionally, Dr. Rodriguez participated in a media tour with numerous broadcast outlets targeting Hispanic Americans with important information on influenza prevention. Dr. Rodriguez did more than 15 interviews in Spanish, with many top markets, including New York, Chicago, Sacramento and others.

The Faces of Influenza program is designed to help Americans put a "face" on this serious disease and recognize annual influenza immunization as an important preventive measure to protect themselves and their families.

To find out if you are among the "faces of influenza" and learn more about how to protect you and your loved ones, visit http://www.facesofinfluenza.org. The site also provides access to the Lung Association's Flu Clinic Locator, which allows visitors to type in their 5-digit zip code to receive a list of immunization clinics in their area.

The American Lung Association's Faces of Influenza educational initiative is made possible through a collaboration with sanofi pasteur.

American Lung Association

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